Ezekiel 19

Ezekiel 19New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Chapter 19

1 As for you, raise a lamentation over the princes of Israel, 2 and say:

What a lioness was your mother,a lion among lions!She made her lair among young lions,to raise her cubs;3 One cub she raised up,a young lion he became;He learned to tear apart prey,he devoured people.4 Nations heard about him;in their pit he was caught;They took him away with hooksto the land of Egypt.[b]5 When she realized she had waited in vain,she lost hope.She took another of her cubs,and made him a young lion.6 He prowled among the lions,became a young lion;He learned to tear apart prey,he devoured people.7 He ravaged their strongholds,laid waste their cities.The earth and everything in it were terrifiedat the sound of his roar.8 Nations laid out against himsnares all around;They spread their net for him,in their pit he was caught.9 They put him in fetters and took him awayto the king of Babylon,So his roar would no longer be heardon the mountains of Israel.

Allegory of the Vine Branch

10 Your mother was like a leafy vine[c]planted by water,Fruitful and full of branchesbecause of abundant water.11 One strong branch grewinto a royal scepter.So tall it towered among the clouds,conspicuous in height,with dense foliage.12 But she was torn out in furyand flung to the ground;The east wind withered her up,her fruit was plucked away;Her strongest branch dried up,fire devoured it.13 Now she is planted in a wilderness,in a dry, parched land.14 Fire flashed from her branch,and devoured her shoots;Now she does not have a strong branch,a royal scepter!

This is a lamentation and serves as a lamentation.

Footnotes:

19:1–9Some commentators identify Jehoahaz and Zedekiah, sons of the same mother, as the “two young lions”; they were deported to Egypt and Babylon respectively. Cf. 2 Kgs 23:31–34; 24:18–20.

19:4A common fate for royal prisoners: e.g., Assurbanipal claims he put a ring in the jaw of a captive king and a dog collar around his neck (cf. v. 9). A wall relief shows Esarhaddon holding two royal captives with ropes tied to rings in their lips.

19:10–14Vine: Judah. One strong branch: the Davidic king. This allegory describes the deportation of the Davidic dynasty to Babylon and laments the destruction of the house of David. From Ezekiel’s perspective, the arrogance of Judah’s kings leads to this tragedy (vv. 12–14).

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